Women Invited To ‘Get Crafty’ As Part Of #IAMWOMAN Project

Women across Scarborough are being invited to ‘get crafty’ as part of a campaign to give women a voice through art, culture and creativity.

The #IAMWOMAN campaign was launched at Town Hall on International Women's Day in March this year and will see a series of community events held over the coming months, giving women a number of different platforms to tell their stories and express themselves.

The latest event is a ‘crafty lunch’ between 1pm and 2pm on Monday 22 June at The Summit on St Nicholas Street. Women are invited to pop along, have a bite to eat and make something in their lunch hour.

There's also an opportunity for women, who are not experts in crafts, to take part in the #IAMWOMAN Rags to Richness project by visiting The Summit any time between 1pm and 7pm.

There will be bags of rags available to buy with materials and craft experts on hand to help groups and individuals create something special. The day will end with a fashion show between 7pm and 8pm when everyone who has made a garment throughout the day will have the opportunity to have their work modelled or they can take to the catwalk themselves.

Women can also take part in the Rags to Richness project before the event by purchasing a bag of unwanted clothes from Miss Elainey's on Victoria Road and turning the fabrics into a unique new item that could be a personal statement and symbolise their own individual story. They will also be eligible to take part in the fashion show.

Community Cohesion Worker, Julie Hay, from North Yorkshire County Council, one of the founding partners of #IAMWOMAN together with Scarborough Borough Council's Safer Communities Partnership and the Cambridge Centre Women’s Community Service, said:

"We want women to have fun, socialise, express themselves and tell their stories. It often takes women to come together, without men, to feel more comfortable to talk about their lives and their own stories, whether they are positive stories of things like personal achievement and heritage or those less comfortable stories of struggles, some of which are going to be unique to women."

The council's Community Safety and Safeguarding Manager, Sandra Rees, added:

"We are also looking for people to step forward if they think they have an idea that would give women a platform to find their voice and be a conducive environment for women to tell their stories, if they wish."

"If you’re in charge of a dance group, run storytelling classes or organise painting workshops and want to get involved, we’d love to hear from you; or you might already be part of a community group or work in the arts and crafts sector and want to organise a multi-faith supper, cooking classes, jewellery making or pottery class."

"This is about bringing women together and by March next year, it would be fantastic if we were in a position to showcase the wonderful creativity of women in Scarborough while sharing some of the stories which we hope women will feel empowered to tell."

The launch of #IAMWOMAN in March this year featured a number of speakers, as well as stories from women of different cultural backgrounds who have overcome adversities such as domestic violence and oppression.